Over the years I have met a few people who have taken Serotonin to lift their spirits! Dr. Oyama mentioned out of all the dogs The Cavaliers are the Happiest Dogs in the World! probably because of the high levels of Serotonin. In laymans language, does this mean when MVD was not around, would the temperament of the Cavalier been different? Are the high levels of Serotonin relatively new. I will have a transcript of this around Wednesday if anyone would like a copy.

Reading this yesterday got me a little upset but not at the statistics but because I think I took things the wrong way or I want to say how I feel. I don't want to point anyone out but I would like to say again that Cavaliers in pain with CM alone or with CM/SM should be treated the same emotionally. Thank you Nicki for pointing this out. There are many on the forum that have Cavaliers on several medications treating CM pain. I am NOT saying this to rise any debate but simply to be considerate of those.

However, even if Cavaliers have higher seratonin, I don't know if this is brought up to explain why some show symptoms with CM alone. I think Kate has done a great job explaining some of it without the reference of seratonin. I don't think these with extreme symptoms just don't take pain as well as others. There are many questions but can we just be thoughtful of those that need support also. There is more than just an increased level or decreased level to show symptoms.

1st August 2011, 09:57 PM

Karen and Ruby

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zumie05

Out of curiosity, is redness in the whites of the eyes and watery eyes a symptom of pain in general? I have noticed that Coco's whites will occasionally go red, and on/off she has bouts of weepy eyes. She doesn't rub or scratch at her face however, but makes me wonder, especially with knowing that high seratonin levels disguise pain...as Coco is an exceptionally happy Cav.

Hi There!!

It's a long story but I will share- its not a research approved symptom or anything like that but I do keep a close eye on the eyes as that was one of Ruby's major signs before she was pain medicated.

Ruby's eyes, from the age of 18 months or so onwards weeped EXCESSIVELY to the point where we had all sorts of tests done at the vets and even considered possible surgery of somesort to clear out her tear ducts or something like that- it was over 3 years ago!!
Anyway I would hae to dry her eyes constantly through out the day (every hour or so) and more so when the weather was hot. The area around her eyes was constantly wet.

When I first saw Dr Rusbridge I menioned the tearng and said I considered it a symptom of pain and she found it quite interesting- Rubys eye are a beautiful Hazel colour, full of wisdom and they aren't particularly bulbous-(unlike my Charlie which Ill get to in a min) so therefor don't see the whites of her eyes.
The weeping stopped one day after her first dose of Lyrica, our miricle drug, I consider the tears a sign of a bad day and for me it makes me think seriously about upping her dose for a bit to help her out. I mentioned my findings to Dr Rusbridge and she was very interested!

Now on to Charlie- he has very prominant eyes, they are 'boggle' eyes as I call them and he has one eye which isn't formed properly so when he looks straight on at me one eye is facing to the left! The whites of his eyes are obvious and can be seen all the time.
His eyes weep alot too and the 'bad' days that he has- i.e. more stratching and head rubbing, will be teamed with his eyes being quite blood shot!
I should mention that at the time of his MRI he had massively dialated ventricles that is thought to be the casue of his headaches more so than the malformation which isn't as cramped say as Rubys
I wonder often whether the pressure on the brain and the build up of pressure behind the eyes (Charlie also has a much smaller head than Ruby) is the cause of the tears and the redness!!

Anyway- like I say, my findings are just my findings and not the symptoms that you find listed for SM/CM but I certainly think its worth thinking about!!